Penny’s home care answering service records what changed at home for your coordinator’s assessment.

Google Calendar or Outlook, because that is where the coordinator’s assessment calendar lives, and Penny writes the visit there with the address and the intake notes during the call. HubSpot or Salesforce, so the family is a lead with the trigger event and the hours attached rather than a message slip. Slack for the uncovered-shift alert to the scheduling channel. Zapier and signed webhooks carry the intake into your agency scheduling software, and a text confirmation to the family sits on Pro.

Penny starts at $29 a month on Starter with annual billing, with Pro at $99 adding the on-call schedule for coordinators, text confirmations to families, and missed-call text-back. Business at $249 adds the compliance mode: PHI-minimized transcripts, redaction, retention controls, and a BAA on request. Paid plans include monthly minutes; usage above the allowance is billed at the plan’s per-minute rate. The answering service cost guide compares plans, included minutes, and usage charges.

When a caller says a nurse or therapist already visits, Penny records that in their words for your coordinator. She reads your approved service list and captures any question about skilled nursing, wound care, or other support for your team to answer. The coordinator confirms how the services fit together before arranging care.

She says the coordinator sets the schedule and the rate in the home, after seeing what the client needs, and she books the assessment. If you have given her a published starting rate or a shift minimum, she states that one and nothing more. She never guesses at a weekly figure, never quotes live-in care, and never says what a long-term care policy will pay. The question is noted on the ticket so the coordinator arrives ready to answer it.

Yes. When a caregiver calls in sick, she takes the caregiver’s name, the client, the shift time, and the reason, and she reaches your on-call coordinator during the call. When a family calls to say no one has arrived, she asks whether someone is with the client now, transfers to the coordinator on call, and, if no one picks up, texts every number on your on-call list. The shift is logged as uncovered with the time the call came in, so the scheduler sees it before she sees anything else.

She records what the family has noticed and the questions they want to discuss. The coordinator reviews the support and training needed at the assessment; Penny does not interpret symptoms or choose a level of care. An immediate safety concern follows the agency’s emergency rules.

No. Penny gives no client information to inbound callers, including family. She records the caller’s name, number and request for the coordinator, who verifies the person before answering. She does not read live caregiver-arrival records.

Yes, and they are a large share of an agency’s calls. She takes the applicant’s name, number, whether they hold a CNA or HHA credential, the areas they can work in, and their availability, and she sends them to your application link or books a call with your recruiter, whichever you choose. She does not describe pay, does not promise an interview, and keeps applicant calls out of the client intake queue.

She interrupts ordinary intake and follows your agency’s immediate-help instructions, including directing a caller to 911 when required. Your designated contact receives the report under your notification rules. An uncovered shift follows the coordinator’s on-call and fallback route. Penny does not give medical advice or promise a caregiver arrival time. The dedicated Emergency Rules page explains how to configure these routes.